TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Defending the recent four nation foreign junkets of his officials, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said that the Goa brand name needs to be kept alive for which foreign trips are necessary.
Parulekar once again equated Goa with the toothpaste brand ‘Colgate’ arguing that the latter advertises its product despite its popularity. The minister had cited this example during the monsoon session of the Goa Assembly in July-August 2014 while replying to a question on junkets. Similarly, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) Chairman Nilesh Cabral too had given the same example when his third team of officials flew to Japan on September 23.
“If you have to get tourists from different countries, we will have to travel to those places and invite them. It is not a junket. Just the way Colgate advertises being a reputed brand, Goa too is following the same pattern,” he said while replying to a media question on the sidelines of goantourism.com portal launch on Saturday.
Cabral explained that the department, which is responsible for increasing revenues after the mining shutdown, is not wasting government money. “We are participating in world marts and exhibitions, and also taking part in road shows,” Parulekar added.
The minister informed that Chief Secretary B Vijayan has already framed guidelines over foreign visits of the ministers and politicians. The recent trips, Parulekar said were approved, only after all permissions were obtained from the government.
